About Brooke
Brooke Friendly has been folk and country dancing for over 30 years and has taught since 1982. She teaches an academic credit class on English and Scottish country dance at Southern Oregon University (SOU) and co-teaches a weekly community dance class in Ashland with her husband, Chris Sackett.
Brooke has been on staff at numerous dance camps and events around North America and recently was program director of the Bay Area Country Dance Society English Dance and Music Week. She is on the roster of guest presenters for visiting school groups program of the Center for Shakespeare Studies at SOU.
She and Chris have devised English and Scottish Country Dances, to increasing national acclaim, since 1996. They have published two books of dances—Impropriety Volume 1 in 2006 and Impropriety Volume 2 in 2008. In May 2009, they collaborated with the newly formed band Roguery (Anita Anderson and Dave Bartley from Seattle WA, Shira Kammen from Berkeley CA, and Jim Oakden from Santa Cruz CA) to produce a CD of music for the English Country Dances in Volume 1.
Theatrical choreography credits include SOU Department of Theatre Arts productions of Entertaining Strangers (with Chris), Dancing at Lughnasa and Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Oregon Cabaret Theatre’s world premiere Parcel From America.
Brooke was a founding member of The Heather and the Rose Country Dancers, a statewide organization promoting English and Scottish Country Dance with several branches throughout Oregon whose teachers use global terminology (no reference to gender) for calling dances. She served as H&R’s treasurer and secretary for seven years. She coordinates the Ashland branch’s annual spring ball that celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2010. Brooke served on the board and executive committee of the Country Dance and Song Society for six years and currently serves on the CDSS Youth Task Group.
In addition to teaching, organizing, and composing country dance, Brooke has been in several performing groups presenting English, Scottish, Irish and Garland dance and was on a Morris dance team for eight years. She loves to sing, especially rounds, and has taught round workshops and led round singing at a variety of events.
Brooke recently ended a job at Southern Oregon University Department of Theatre Arts
as director of the Ashland Center for Theatre Studies, running theatre
teacher training programs. For eleven years she worked for SOU Extended
Campus Programs managing arts and adult community education programs.
She worked for the Arts Council of Southern Oregon, a regional arts service
agency, for more than eight years. As Executive Director, Brooke was responsible
for identifying and securing resources needed for the growth and development
of the Arts Council including funds, board members and other resources.
Brooke also managed the Arts in Education program, oversaw a small grants
program, and provided consulting help to artists and arts organizations.
She served for two years on the Oregon Arts Commission's statewide arts
education long range planning committee.